Hide Article Text (OCR)
Lucky Puerto Ricans Have/ JLengthy Christmas SeasonBy HOMAfeU HOODTo ’Mrs. John F. Morgan of T«9A Childress Street, whose husband is a master sergeant at Sheppard Air Force Base, questions pertinent to a Puerto Rican “Christmas Pay” are a bit confusing.Although Christmas means Pec. 25 to Americans, lucky Puerto Ricans observe a yuletide season extending into Janizary.Said Mrs. Morgan, “In Puerto Rico, Pec. 25 is not children’s day’—it is a day for visiting and festivities. On that day. gifts are presented to adults—to one’s sweetheart. to grandparents and parents and to friends. The children’s day does not come until January.”“Santa.” Mrs. Morgan added, pronouncing a very broad A, “is the bringcr of gifts to adults. Children receive their toys from the Three Wise Men who do not journey through our land until Jan. 5.”During the evening of Jan. 5, Puerto Rican children place blades of grass or bits of feed and* fodder on the. doorstep or near their own beds, perhaps tucking a tuft of grass under their pillows. While they sleep, the generous Wise Men ride up quietly, their carpels pausing to graze on the feed placed there by the children. While the camels feast, the Wise Men heap toys around the children's beds.Although Puerto Rican Christmas trees are the same as those in America—having been shipped from U. S. ports to Puerto Rican merchants — other accouterments of the season vary greatly. Wine is used as the seasonal beverage rather than eggnog; and carolers, called serenaders, sing to the accompaniment of instruments such as the guitar, the accordion andmaracas” similar to those used in rhumba bands.For Christmas dinner, Puerto Ricans relish “pasteles,” a dish of pork boiled with banana^, or “a sopao de polla.” chicken cooked with rice.“A favorite dessert,” MYs. Morgan said, “is ‘flan a la moda’ which is much like ice cream atop custard pudding. Choice fruits are “pinas* (pineapples), coconut, mangoes and papayas. Mangoes are similar to the American peach. Papayas also are used for making candy.”Another interesting fruit mentioned by Mrs. Morgqn is the “Icmondulce”—a sweet lemon that is green of color and near the size of an orange.Puerto Ricans dine on many of the same vegetables as those found in America. “But I have never seen a carrot in Puerto Rico,” Mrs. Morgan added. “Avocados are a favorite over there, as are the “llame’.” She stated that there is no vegetable in this country with which to compare the llame. “It is something like bread, and is sliced and boiled.”Coffee in Puerto Rico is Cubangrown, very black and strong.“Similar to that in the southernstates,*’ she explained, “except that it has no chicory.”Mrs. Morgan, who has been in the United States some 10 years, named square dancing as one of the greatest novelties she encountered upon her arrival in this country.M/Sgt. Morgan commented at this point, describing the occasion that afforded him the most amusement while watching his wife become acquainted with America. “Puerto Rico is extremely... .Y-WkW aW.n; ; sv vS?A \v. i-'-.*’'Mommy Tells of Puerto Rican ChristmasEnraptured with the story of “camel-riding Wise Men whobring gifts to boys and girls,*' the children of M/Sgt. qnd Mrs.John F. Morgan listen as their mother describes Yuletide customs practiced, in her home in Puerto Rjco. At left, young Michel Allard, age three and youngest of the Morgan children, temporarily loses interest in the story in his fascination for the cameraman.M/Sgt. Morgan lends close attention in order to assist ,with interpretation as Mrs. Morgan has found mastery of the English language difficult. Mona Jean, age four, and nine-year-old Mary Jane, sitting between their parents, concentrate intently on the tale, while, at far right, eight-yearold Murry Hal, who prefers his nickname of “Butch,” lets his imagination conjure mental pictures as the story progresses. The four children were born in the United States.crowded,” he said, “Almost every other purposes. When we came.to inch i.lt; used for living1 space or America, -our first home was inthe sparsely settled part of Colorado. You can imagine how thesight of all that unpeopled space affected my wife.”
Newspaper Details
Wichita Falls Times
Wichita Falls, Texas, US
Sun, Dec 11, 1955
Page 19
Full Page
Clipped by
Boyd C.
KY, USA 28 Feb 2021
Other Publications Near Wichita Falls, Texas
Wichita Falls Times Record News
Wichita Falls Times
Wichita Oil Reporter
Times Record News
Wichita Weekly Times
